Conor McGregor
Conor "The Notorious" McGregor (b. July 14, 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial artist who is currently signed with the UFC. He is a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion. As of December 14, 2019, he is #13 in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings and #4 in the UFC lightweight rankings. McGregor was the former Cage Warriors featherweight and lightweight champion. In 2015, at UFC 194, he defeated José Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship via knockout 13 seconds into the first round, which is the fastest victory in UFC title fight history. Upon defeating Eddie Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 205, McGregor became the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight divisions simultaneously. In his debut boxing match, he was defeated by Mayweather Jr. Floyd Mayweather Jr. where he would earn over 100 million dollars and the match drew 4.3 million PPV buys in North America, the second most in history. Conor then lost to the current UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the highest UFC PPV of all time. McGregor returned recently in in UFC 246 where he won by 40 seconds against Donald Cerrone in his comeback fight at Welterweight. Biography Early Life Conor Anthony McGregor was born in Crumlin, Dublin on 14 July 1988, the son of Tony and Margaret McGregor. He was raised in Crumlin and attended a Gaelscoil and Gaelcholáiste at both primary and at secondary level in Coláiste de hÍde in Tallaght, where he also developed his passion for sport, playing association football. In his youth, he played football for Lourdes Celtic Football Club. At the age of 12, McGregor also began boxing at Crumlin Boxing Club. In 2006, McGregor moved with his family to Lucan, Dublin, attending Gaelcholáiste Coláiste Cois Life. Following that, he commenced a plumbing apprenticeship. While in Lucan, he met future UFC fighter Tom Egan and they soon started training mixed martial arts (MMA) together. Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Career On 17 February 2007, at the age of 18, McGregor made his mixed martial arts debut in an amateur fight against Kieran Campbell for the Irish Ring of Truth promotion in Dublin. He won via technical knockout (TKO) in the first round. Following the fight, he turned professional and was signed by the Irish Cage of Truth promotion. In 2008, McGregor began training at the Straight Blast Gym (SBG) in Dublin under John Kavanagh. Early Career (2008-2013) On 9 March 2008, McGregor had his first professional MMA bout, as a lightweight, defeating Gary Morris with a second-round TKO. After McGregor won his second fight against Mo Taylor, he made his featherweight debut in a loss via submission against Artemij Sitenkov. After a victory at featherweight in his next bout against Stephen Bailey, McGregor contemplated a different career path before his mother contacted his coach John Kavanagh and reinvigorated him to continue pursuing mixed martial arts. McGregor then won his next fight, also at featherweight, against Connor Dillon, before moving back to lightweight for a fight against Joseph Duffy, in which he received his second professional loss after submitting to an arm-triangle choke. Following this, during 2011 and 2012, McGregor went on an eight-fight winning streak, during which he won both the CWFC Featherweight and Lightweight championships, making him the first European professional mixed martial artist to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously. In February 2013, UFC president Dana White made a trip to Dublin, Ireland to receive a Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage from Trinity College and was inundated with requests to McGregor to the UFC. After a meeting with McGregor, and talking with UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, White offered him a contract days later. 2013 UFC Debut In February 2013, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced that they had signed McGregor to a multi-fight contract. In joining, McGregor became only the second fighter from Ireland to compete for the company, following fellow SBG team member Tom Egan. On 6 April 2013, McGregor made his UFC debut against Marcus Brimage at UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi. McGregor won the fight on round one. The win also earned McGregor his first "Knockout of the Night" award. McGregor was expected to face Andy Ogle on 17 August 2013 at UFC Fight Night 26, but Ogle pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Max Holloway. McGregor won the fight by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 30–26). Following the bout with Holloway, an MRI scan revealed that McGregor had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during the bout and would require surgery, keeping him out of action for up to ten months. 2014 Return After Injury McGregor was expected to face Cole Miller on 19 July 2014 at UFC Fight Night 46 in his comeback bout after recovering from his ACL injury. However, Miller pulled out of the bout citing a thumb injury and was replaced by Diego Brandão. McGregor fought Brandão in front of a loud, rowdy crowd of 9,500 at The O2 in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland. The fight was officially halted by referee Leon Roberts at 4:05 of the first round. The win earned McGregor his first "Performance of the Night" award. Prior to his next bout, McGregor met with Lorenzo Fertitta and signed a new multi-fight contract with the UFC. McGregor next faced Dustin Poirier on 27 September 2014 at UFC 178. Despite McGregor landing 9 significant strikes to Poirier's 10, he managed to secure a victory early on in the first round, by pressuring Poirier onto his back foot, before exploding with a left hook behind Poirier's ear, forcing referee Herb Dean to step in. The finish officially came at 1:46 into the first round. This marked Poirier's first UFC loss via KO/TKO, and earned McGregor his second straight "Performance of the Night" award. 2015 Championship Pursuits McGregor faced Dennis Siver on 18 January 2015 at UFC Fight Night 59. McGregor won the fight via TKO on the second round. The victory also earned McGregor his third straight "Performance of the Night" award. Interim Featherweight Championship Bout The highly anticipated bout with Aldo was announced on 30 January 2015, at the UFC 183 Q&A. McGregor declared that he was expected to face Aldo on 11 July 2015 at UFC 189 for the undisputed UFC Featherweight Championship, during the UFC's annual International Fight Week. The fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC, confident that the fight would exceed expectations, increased the promotional budget for the event, with company president Dana White stating that "UFC spent more money promoting Aldo–McGregor than any fight in UFC history." The fight against Jose Aldo was announced on 30 January 2015, at the UFC 183 and both McGregor and Aldo embarked on a 12-day world tour, during which eight cities in five countries were visited, including Aldo's home country of Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) and McGregor's hometown of Dublin, Ireland. The tour began in Rio de Janeiro on 20 March, and completed in Dublin on 31 March. However, on 23 June, it was reported that Aldo had suffered a rib fracture and had pulled out of the bout as a consequence. McGregor remained on the card and was rescheduled to face Chad Mendes for the Interim Featherweight Championship. The official attendance for the event, 16,019, broke the record in Nevada, whilst the gate of $7,200,000 broke the record for a mixed martial arts event in the United States. Prior to the fight, McGregor's entrance song, "The Foggy Dew", was sung live by Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor. McGregor won the fight via TKO, winning the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship. Featherweight Championship Unification Bout 2016 First UFC Loss Rematch With Nate Diaz Two-Division Champion Stripping of Featherweight Championship 2017 MMA Hiatus and Boxing Endeavours 2018 Stripping of Lightweight Championship Return from Hiatus 2019 2020 UFC Return and Victory Mixed Martial Arts Fighting Style Personal Life Business Ventures and Endorsements August McGregor Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey Controversies Driving Offences Incident at Bellator 187 Bus Attack at UFC 223 Media Day Incident at UFC 229 Robbery Arrest Dublin Pub Assault Mixed Martial Arts Record